1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to material handling systems for servicing a plurality of stations, and in particular to a system capable of either manual on-site control or remote control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In various industrial processes, materials are serviced at various work stations and, in many cases, materials are moved from one station to another in a predetermined pattern. One example of such a process is metal refining in which metals are plated on electrolytic plates. For example, in the refining of zinc, a plurality of alternately spaced plates are arranged in each electrolytic cell. One group of plates is anodes and another group is cathodes. In a typical metal refining operation, the plates are moved in stages from the electrolytic cells to a washing station; plates at the washing station are moved to a stripping station at which the zinc is stripped from the plates; and plates at the stripping station are moved to the electrolytic cells and begin the process again. Each of these steps involves the grabbing, raising, moving and lowering of the plates. In the past, the process of moving the plates from station-to-station has involved relatively complicated equipment and a substantial amount of human labor. From both an efficiency and a safety standpoint, it is desirable to reduce the involvement of the workers in this environment.